Sky's Pet Tree
by Tommycats
Summary: Shantae works at her best friend's pet store, totally content and happy with her life for the time being. When a lilac-haired woman comes in with an odd request, Shantae feels a bit more than curiosity about this new customer.
1. Chapter 1

**All Shantae rights go to Wayforward and Matt Bozon.**

**Shantae – 19**

**Sky – 20**

**Risky Boots – 25**

**Rottytops – 19**

**Bolo – 18**

**Hello people of the interwebz! It is I, Tommycats, with a new fic! Let me explain my Modern AU a little bit.**

**The ages, as listed at the top, have been made up by me just to keep some relevance to their young looking age. **

**Risky is meant to be portrayed as a kinder person, but still snappy and fiery when she gets provoked. Besides this, I've attempted to keep her as close to her character as possible. She's not inherently evil this time. Sorry for those expecting a supermassive Tinkertub to run through the city with Shantae trying to stop her with her magic pow—**

**No magic here, buddy. Nothing considered supernatural.**

**Lastly, I chose a pet store because, hey, pets are cool and all that.**

**I mean, I _could_ tell you more buuuttt…**

**I'll let the fic do that for me, hm?**

* * *

"That'll be twenty seven gems. Would you like a receipt?"

The purplette behind the counter recited her lines with a smile, bagging the supplies and making sure to return the correct amount of change. She waved goodbye to the customer, eagerly awaiting the next one.

Shantae loved working at the pet store. Not only that, it was Sky's pet store, who had dreamt of opening one up since her first year at school. When the older girl finally graduated from university two years ago and pursued her dream, Shantae was delighted when her best friend asked if she would like to work for her.

Sky often worked alongside Shantae, happily serving customers and tending to all the animals in the store. She had always hated seeing animals in small enclosures, so Sky had gone the extra mile and given each group of animals a large area to play, sleep, and generally laze around in. Shantae had always joked with Sky about the shop pretty much being a zoo at that point, and sometimes it was hard not to see why. It was also no surprise the blonde had gone with a bird themed name for her store – she absolutely adored birds, and even kept a pet Macaw, named Wrench, who was adorned with purple and blue feathers and was happiest when with his owner.

It had been two years since Shantae had first been hired, and since then she had also graduated from high school. She planned to go to university, but wasn't sure what she wanted to choose for a future career, so she settled on helping Sky with the shop in a more full-time sense. The blonde always made sure she paid her friend right, but it was never really about the pay for Shantae – spending time around so many cute animals and her best friend was enough of a payment for her, but Sky wouldn't hear it.

"_I don't care what you say, Shantae, I'm not going to not pay you. You're my best friend and a passionate worker; you deserve it. Plus I don't want to break the law."_

Shantae giggled at the memory, remembering why Sky was her best friend. The blonde was always looking out for the younger girl as if she was her older sister, and sometimes, Shantae felt like she was. Without her, the teen didn't know where she would be today, and she made sure to thank Sky for nearly everything.

Shantae wasn't the only friend of Sky's who worked at her store. Their childhood friend Bolo was often around to help with the more physically demanding jobs, such as cleaning animal pens or moving stock or deliveries to their rightful places. Currently, Bolo was on holiday, so it was up to the two girls to do all the work. Not that they minded – they loved their jobs, and lifting heavy boxes or cleaning pens was just part of it.

While there were no customers, the purplette turned around to have a drink from her bottle, noticing Sky dragging out a sack from the storeroom. Shantae quickly took a swig and moved over to help her friend.

"Where's this one going?" She asked as she picked up the other side of the rough bag. Sky looked at her with a thankful expression, some of her hair falling out of her trademark hood and over her face.

"Reptile section. Turtles. Sand on one side being dragged into water every time they leave it. Need to even out," the blonde replied. Shantae noticed Sky's very direct and general speech, which was quite unlike her. She took another, closer look at the older girl, noticing her face flushed and sweat on her brow, along with laboured breathing. Shantae set her side of the sack down and coaxed Sky's hands off of her own side, earning a puzzled look.

"What are you doing?"

"Go rest, Sky, you look exhausted."

"I'm fine, if we do this-"

"I've been serving customers all day while you've been tending to all the animals. You need to take a break."

"But-"

"Sky, please," Shantae pleaded. Even if you don't want to 'be lazy,' just serve customers instead. I don't want you doing any of the heavy work for the rest of the day," she finished sternly.

Sky looked at Shantae with a frown on her face and her arms crossed. After a few moments, she relaxed.

"Fine," she huffed, "but only because it's an hour to closing time."

This satisfied Shantae, who watched Sky to make sure she would stay behind the counter. The poor girl was truly exhausted. It was rare for her to have her hair not impeccable and contained mostly within her hood. Now, there were strands of it over her face, not to mention how red and tired she looked. Shantae made a mental note to get back to the counter as quickly as possible to relieve any workload Sky would get.

She began to drag the sack by herself, taking care not to step on her own hair. Working her way around enclosures and shelving, she smiled to herself at how large the store was. It never ceased to amaze her how Sky managed to find a place with such a large floor space, and also how the she managed to make everything work so well. Even after two years, each time she explored the shop to tend to animals or restock shelves, Shantae always felt like she was discovering a new section of the store every time.

In a sense, every time Shantae left the shop, she was still exploring. Both she and Sky had moved to from their beachside home of Scuttle Town to a small suburb of the main city further inland to complete their studies. They flatted together, and though Shantae was paying half of the rent, technically Sky was paying for everything considering she was also the one who paid Shantae in the first place. The two were inseparable, being around each other during the down time at home, the workplace, and even on the weekends where they would go out and explore more of the city together.

Smoothing out the rest of the sand, the purplette began thinking where they should visit this weekend. Though it was only Tuesday, Shantae liked to plan ahead. Waving goodbye to a few of the turtles, she made her way back to the counter, only to be distracted by a lilac-haired woman browsing the aquatic section. While she really didn't want to intrude and seem pushy, Shantae felt rather attracted to this woman for some strange reason. After a bit of hesitance, she decided to go up to her anyway.

"Hi! Need any help?"

The woman turned towards Shantae, revealing her crimson eyes and mature face. At first glance, the teen could already tell that this woman was far older than her, maybe by seven or eight years. Her flowing hair was nearly as long as Shantae's, but the latter kept hers in a high ponytail, while the former let hers flow freely down her back. Even though the woman had a rather intimidating atmosphere, Shantae put on her warmest smile. Can't judge a book by its cover, after all.

The woman smirked a little, sending Shantae's stomach doing flips. Internally, Shantae panicked. Why was she feeling like this? She had never felt this way towards anyone before. What did this random woman have that nobody else did?

"You're rather short, aren't you?"

The voice snapped Shantae out of her stupor, crossing her arms and looking away, all feelings for this woman instantly dropped.

"You do not know how many times I hear that a day. I get it. I'm short. Whatever. Do you need help or not?" She growled out the end of her sentence. Nothing annoyed her more than her height being pointed out, and she had no qualms in showing it. Only Sky or Bolo were allowed to tease her in such a way.

The woman laughed, though it sounded partially like a cackle, and Shantae's stomach began flipping again. Clearly the insult was only a temporary stop to… whatever she was feeling. Either way, the purplette narrowed her eyes a bit. Laughing at her height? How dare she?

"Sorry, that wasn't the best thing to say now, was it? I usually say what's on my mind without thinking first. Though I won't take it back. You _are_ short. Anyway," the woman continued, just in time to stop Shantae giving this lilac-haired… _tower_ a piece of her mind. "I have a few squids at my home and I was just browsing the fish to see if there were any that could live in peace with them. The last fish… well, let's just say they didn't understand why you don't attack a squid."

Shantae stared at the woman in disbelief.

"Squids?"

"Yes, red ones with purple spots. I have seven. I call the biggest one the Squid Baron, and at least three of the others are his next of kin," the woman explained, flashing a grin.

"Riiiight…" Shantae said, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach. "And you're looking for fish that can live peacefully with a family of squids?"

"Correct."

"Well, I don't know about squids, but we do have some shy fish that don't attack at all. Bad thing is that they stop functioning if they're put with a bully fish, which is just a fish species that takes advantage of shy fish. What I'm trying to say is they should be fine with your... squids as long as they don't get pushy with them." Shantae finished her quick explanation, hoping that the woman would understand. Instead, she was given a raised eyebrow.

"You really can't believe that I own squids, do you?" the woman asked.

"No, no, it's not that," Shantae said, waving her hands in front of her in denial. "I've just never really come across someone who's kept squids outside of the aquarium. In all honesty, I'm not a hundred percent sure if what I'm saying is right, it's just a guess. Sorry."

Shantae hung her head in shame, kicking herself internally for not knowing more about animals, though squids were quite specific. To her surprise, a hand was soon on her shoulder, and she shot her head up to be met with another smirk from the woman. Did she ever smile or grin normally?

"It's fine. You can't know everything. There's no harm in trying though, so show me the fish," she said, taking her hand off of Shantae's shoulder, who found herself missing the contact more than she should.

"Uh… we're sold out," the purplette grinned sheepishly, pressing her fingers together in habit. The woman looked rather unimpressed with this.

"Seriously? I thought this shop stocked everything needed for pet owners of any kind, at any time."

"Well we do usually, but the more exotic the animal, the longer they take to restock. We sold out a fortnight ago due to some fish collector, but we should be receiving more on Thursday if you're willing to come back in. We're actually getting a massive load of stock on Thursday, so you might want to come around this time of day again since we'll probably be tending to everything for most of it." Shantae hoped the woman would say yes, just so she could see her again. She had no idea why she wanted to see her again. She just did.

"I suppose that will have to do," the older woman sighed. "Am I able to reserve some?"

"Sure! I'll just need your name," Shantae said cheerily, taking out a small notepad from her pocket.

"Risky Boots." Shantae nearly dropped the notepad. Did she hear that right?

"Risky Boots? Really?"

Risky leaned in menacingly.

"Are you making fun of my name?" She growled, not unlike the way Shantae did a few minutes earlier.

"Of course not! And you made fun of my height earlier anyway, so we'd be even!" The younger purplette shot back, placing her hands on her hips. Risky smirked again, standing up straight and beginning to walk around the teen.

"Very well, I believe you," she said nonchalantly, and Shantae was inclined to think it was sarcasm. "I shall see you on Thursday."

"Sure thing! If I'm not at the counter, I'll be taking care of one of the enclosures. Or restocking. Or in the storeroom. Or in the toilet. Maybe the staff room."

"Alright. See you then, Shantae," Risky waved, strutting out of the shop,

"Wha-?" How did she know her n—ah.

The nametag would probably explain it.

Of course Shantae would forget she wore a nametag on her shirt. Now that Risky Boots wasn't in front of her, the purplette could focus a little bit on why she felt so weird when talking to her. Nobody had made her feel like that before, but she could tell it was something big. Maybe Sky would know, though it could be a little embarrassing to tell her. After all, she was Shantae's best friend for a reason. She would never judg—wait.

Sky!

Shantae spun around and quickly made her way to the counter, cursing herself for leaving her exhausted friend alone while she spoke to a customer for too long.

Rounding the corner of the last shelf, Shantae saw Sky about to give a customer a piece of her mind. Kicking into action, she speedily ran over to the counter, skidding to a halt and clamping her hand over Sky's mouth before she could utter another word.

"Sky, why don't you go and grab a drink?" The purplette asked, placing Sky's empty bird-themed bottle in her hands and pushing her away. Though she had posed it as a question, Shantae wasn't giving the blonde much of a choice in the matter.

"But-"

"Ah-bup-bup-bup, no words, off you go," Shantae interrupted, pointing at the staffroom door. Sky sighed, glared at her, then stomped off towards the room. Shantae then turned to face the customer that Sky had been about to berate.

She had short, brown hair, which was a little messy, a yellow headband, and some red-rimmed glasses. She wore what appeared to be a white school top which exposed a little of her midriff, along with a green skirt and dark stockings, though both were short enough to show off some of her legs. She had a regretful look on her face, and her crimson eyes showed worry.

Wait, crimson eyes again? Were Risky and this girl related?

Either way, Shantae put on her best smile and greeted the customer as best as she could.

"Sorry about that! She's had a really rough day today. How can I help?"

"No, that was definitely my fault," the girl said, shaking her head. "I shouldn't have flirted with her. I do that too much apparently."

"Oh. Well, that's alright, I guess? Usually Sky is fine with a little bit of flirting. That being said, she usually gets it from guys, sooo…"

"Easy to see why…" The girl trailed off, leading Shantae to think that there was something more to this flirting. Did this girl take it a little too far, or was Sky just really tired? "Anyway, I'm here for some hamster feed, and there was none of the brand he likes left on the shelf."

Shantae nodded, asking the girl which brand she usually bought, then headed out to the storeroom to get the desired amount. Pulling the little bags from their box, she returned to the counter with a smile, taking the gems given and giving out the correct amount of change.

"Thanks," the girl smiled, "and could let your friend know I'm sorry?"

"No worries, and I'll be sure to let her know! I hope we see you again soon!" Shantae said cheerily, waving goodbye to the girl, who waved back with a grin.

Noticing that it was now only fifteen minutes to closing time, she went around the store, letting any lingering people know that the store was soon to shut down for the night. Shantae then went on her rounds, checking that each enclosure was secure and that no animals would be able to get out in any way. She didn't want a repeat of the costly hermit crab versus snail war. A whole seven gems had been lost that day because of the shell Shantae had to replace. Though she was secretly hoping that it had been an intense battle, security cameras showed that both animals had stayed inside their shells for the entire 'fight,' the hermit shell broken from falling out of the enclosure.

When the clock struck 5PM, Shantae looked around to make sure nobody was still in the store, though her short stature meant she had to jump to see around, and after checking at least four times, she began to drag down the shutters at the storefront. After that was done, she took most of the gems from the register and put them into a handy partitioned bag, leaving a little to be used as change the next day. Noticing the unusual absence of Sky during closing time, Shantae headed into the staffroom to find the blonde asleep in a chair, her head resting on folded arms. The purplette smiled to herself, finding the scene rather cute. Maybe she should take a picture…

Putting the phone away, she gently shook her friend awake, telling her it was time to go home. Sky stretched, still clearly tired, asking if Shantae could drive tonight. The shorter girl agreed, pulling Sky up from the chair and into a hug. Sky weakly returned the gesture, before both girls headed to Sky's car.

Getting in, Shantae gave Sky the bag of gems, adjusting the seat so she could see the road and reach the wheel properly.

"Shorty," Sky teased tiredly, earning a poked-out tongue from her shorter friend. It reminded Shantae of Risky's words earlier, and she began to feel light in a good away again.

"Before you fall asleep again, that girl wanted me to tell you she's sorry," Shantae said as she backed out of the car park. Sky furrowed her brow, fluttering her eyes closed.

"Whatever."

The younger girl looked at the blonde quizzically. Sky wasn't usually curt. She supposed she would have to ask Sky what it was all about once she woke up again, even if that was tomorrow.

Instead, she focused on driving them home. The two shared a little rented house at the top of a hill about twenty minutes from Sky's pet store. It had two bedrooms with connecting bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. A small balcony overlooked the countryside behind the house, reminding the girls of their non-ocean views from home. They had nice neighbours, a nice house, a great job, and each other. It was almost the perfect life as far as they were concerned.

Shantae dreaded the day that Sky would find a boyfriend and ask her to leave the house, or leave the house herself. Of course, she would still work with her friend, until one day she found her own soulmate, and maybe a better job, which in turn would eventually whittle down them seeing each other until they eventually stopped being a part of each other's lives…

The purplette shook her head from those thoughts. She would always be a part of Sky's life, and Sky would always be a part of hers. There was no reason to think pessimistically.

Pulling up to the driveway, Shantae opened the garage and parked the car inside. She gently shook the sleeping Sky awake again, guiding her towards her room before gently closing the door and collapsing onto the couch. Not feeling like cooking dinner tonight, she called up her favourite restaurant and put in an order for two bento boxes to be delivered, adding a note to just knock on the door so the doorbell didn't wake up Sky.

While she waited for the delivery, Shantae turned on some TV at a low volume, but wasn't focused on it anyway. She was thinking about her conversation with Risky. Or, more specifically, how she had been feeling during it.

Shantae had never taken an interest in anyone before, other than Sky and Bolo once or twice during her lowest times. She didn't have a set preference like most people seemed to have by her age, but she had never found it important anyway. Now, however, she felt like her attraction was a little more than curiosity. The way her stomach flipped and the butterflies had a ball proved that. Shantae didn't want to say she had fallen in love at first sight, but she was considering that it was a possibility. Her real question was; what set Risky apart from everyone else?

A gentle knocking on the door told her that her food had arrived, and the teen rushed to get the gems needed to pay for it. Thanking the delivery boy and adding a tip, she put the boxes on the kitchen bench and went to check on her friend.

Sure enough, Sky was still sleeping. Shantae silently moved up to her and began to remove her hood, knowing how much Sky hated sleeping in it. She also knew that it was a privilege to see the older girl's blonde locks. Shantae knew why Sky preferred to keep the majority of her hair hidden, and that she trusted only a few people seeing her without the hood. The purplette managed to get the article off, folding it up neatly and placing it at the end of the bed. She also knew that Sky disliked sleeping in any clothes that weren't her pajamas, but Shantae wasn't about to strip her best friend. Sky would have to deal with it.

Leaving the room again, the teen suddenly realized she would have to feed Wrench. She groaned, having to enter Sky's room once more and risk waking her up. Grabbing a fistful of mixed seeds, she dumped the contents in Wrench's bowl, putting a finger to her lips as if the bird could understand her wishes. With that finally out of the way, and with the hope that Wrench wouldn't wake his owner up, Shantae was finally able to leave the room for good and let the girl sleep.

Grabbing a box and throwing the other one in the fridge for the blonde to eat whenever she woke, Shantae plopped down once again on the couch, stuffing her face with food while still thinking about Risky. She was clearly much, _much_ older than the short teen that was Shantae, so surely a similarly-aged person would be more suitable for the purplette to have a crush on, if this was a crush at all. Additionally, she was so rude! The first thing that came out of her mouth was the pointing out of Shantae's short stature, as well as no effort to take back that comment. From what little Shantae knew of her, and what she could guess about her, she became aware that Risky seemed to be the complete opposite of her.

And she began to realise that that was the reason she was so attracted to her.

* * *

**A new story is born! Hope you enjoyed so far! **

**I've wanted to a modern AU Shantae fic for a while so I thought I might as well do it now while it's fresh in my head, and plan to update once a fortnight, even through uni. I'll see how well that works out.**

**Hopefully I have the characters' personalities correct. It's been a hot minute since I've played any of the games so I might need to go back and refresh myself with 5's release of a replay of HGH. **

**Anyway, it's early and I can't think of anything else to say except MHW:IB is very good and distracting and the reason why this is uploaded on the last day of January instead of mid-Jan like I had planned.**

**Criticism, reviews, and faves/follows are welcome and appreciated!**

**Until next time,**

**-Tommycats**


	2. Chapter 2

Shantae was making lunch for the day ahead when Sky emerged groggily from her room. She quickly rushed over and embraced her friend in a tight hug, asking if she was feeling alright.

"I shouldn't have stayed up so late on Monday night," was the response.

"You know I can help you out with taxes, right?" Shantae reminded her, placing her hands on her hips.

"You're young, Shae, you wouldn't understand them," Sky countered, crossing her arms.

"Then maybe you should teach me, bird-brain."

"Well, maybe next time."

"You said that last time!"

"I promise."

"You said that too!"

They laughed, wrapping their arms around each other again. It was true that Sky was the mathematically smarter of the two, considering her course required it, but she had no match against Shantae when talking to people. The younger girl had seemingly endless happiness and charm that Sky, regrettably, could only pair to her naivety and innocence. Still, Shantae had a way with people that she didn't, and that meant more sales, which meant that rent and other costs could be covered a little easier.

"I made you lunch. Your favourite, of course. And I left you a bento box in the fridge for breakfast if you want it," Shantae said, jerking a thumb over to the mentioned appliance.

"Thanks, Shantae, but I don't really feel like it right now."

"Then don't complain when it's gone before dinner."

"You have an unhealthy addiction to those, you know?" Sky smirked and tousled Shantae's hair, earning an annoyed huff from her. "We better get going. I'll stop by a coffee shop on the way."

Shantae nodded, grabbing her handbag and cat-eye sunglasses, knowing it would be a sunny day ahead. Sky finished tying her hood and feeding Wrench, before grabbing the keys and heading out to the car.

They arrived a half hour later, a coffee in each of their hands. As they entered the shop through the back door, Shantae realised she had forgotten to talk to Sky about how she felt about the woman she met yesterday. It would have to wait until later now.

After making the rounds to each enclosure, and stocking up any empty shelves, Sky opened store at 9:30am. The day itself was rather ordinary, but both girls worked the counter today, only separating when having to retrieve an item from the storeroom or showcase products or animals to customers.

It was around the end of the day, half an hour before closing, when a particular customer came in while Sky was restocking a shelf. Shantae was taking a drink from her bottle, and upon noticing the customer, she put it down straight away and smiled.

"Out of food already?"

The apparent schoolgirl smiled back, shaking her head.

"No, I was hoping to see-"

"Hey, Shantae, do you know where—oh." Sky narrowed her eyes at the girl, who didn't seem scared or worried in the slightest. "What do _you_ want?"

"Sky…"

"What I want is to apologise for my behaviour yesterday. It was unnecessary and frankly a little rude, considering you looked like you had had a bad day." The girl looked dead serious, a look that didn't really suit her.

"Right… well, apology accepted, I guess," Sky said, scanning over the girl for any signs of being ingenuine.

"Awesome!" The girl sang, clapping her hands together next to her face. "Name's Rottytops, by the way," she continued, sticking out her hand for a handshake.

"Rottytops? Are you serious?" Sky asked in a disbelieving tone, tentatively taking Rottytops' hand.

"Yep! Rotty for short! It's a nickname, but I like it! Besides, _Sky_ seems just as unique. It's a pretty name that fits a pretty girl! I, uh… whoops. Sorry."

Sky looked down at her tag, then looked back up at Rotty. She formed a small smile, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"It's fine, really." Letting go of Rotty's hand, she instinctively placed her own on the computer keyboard. "Is there anything you came by for?"

"Nope! That was it! I'll probably be dropping by a little more though. My brother's hamster eats through food like a hamster eating through food but faster than normal. Plus, I'll get to see not one, but two pretty girls!" She winked at Shantae, who averted her eyes in embarrassment. They landed on Sky, who was also blushing. Apparently the blonde's dismissal of the previous flirt had been taken as permission by Rottytops to continue flirting.

"R-right, we'll see you at one point or another?" Sky asked, still flustered.

"You can bet on it! See ya!" With that, the schoolgirl strutted out of the shop, waving goodbye as she did so. When she was out of sight, both girls let out a breath neither of them knew they were holding in the first place.

"Well, that was… interesting. I like her, if a little… odd," Shantae said, a tiny grin on her face.

"Yeah… she was… alright. Seems like a hassle to be around, though," Sky muttered, shaking her head. "I don't like her."

"Sky! You can't just judge people like that! She flirted with you a few times, so what? You get it all the time from boys, and you couldn't care less."

"She just seems… annoying. Can you serve her whenever she comes by?"

"Sky!" Shantae looked at her friend in shock. She had never seen Sky so against someone without a proper reason. In fact, she only genuinely disliked one person, and it was a girl named Holly who had kept bullying Shantae in high school until Sky dealt with her. And by dealt with her, she meant Sky had ruined Holly's reputation so badly that barely anybody remembered her.

"I don't like the air around her," Sky said, pretending to focus on whatever was on the computer screen. Shantae groaned, spinning the taller girl around.

"What's your problem?" She growled, staring Sky right in the eyes, ocean blue eyes meeting amethyst purple. "And don't even think about saying 'nothing.'"

Sky sighed, brushing Shantae's hand off her shoulder.

"What she said yesterday made me rather uncomfortable, even if it was well-meant. And no, before you ask, I'm not going to repeat what she said."

"Why didn't you tell her that then?"

"I didn't expect to see her today, and it's something I don't want to discuss with you to witness." Sky turned around again, back on the computer, this time actually doing something on it. Shantae couldn't care less about what she was doing, wanting to know where this attitude was stemming from. Yet, at the same time, she knew it wasn't really her business. Sky would tell her if she needed to.

"I'm sure she's fine. You just had a bad start. Next time she comes in, I'll go restock something, or check the animals, alright?" Shantae put her hand back on Sky's shoulder, but this time as a gesture of support. Sky's head dipped.

"Alright."

Shantae took her hand off and reached for a recent paper detailing upcoming sales, before remembering she had to ask Sky about her situation. Now seemed a good a time as any. It would also take the birdkeeper's mind off of what had just happened.

"Oh, by the way, what does a crush feel like?"

The blonde stiffened a little, before turning her head to look at the purplette with a grin.

"Do you have a crush?" she asked in a voice, using a tone between teasing and pride.

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you, bird-brain!" Shantae huffed, crossing her arms. Sky sidled over, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Who is this person and how do you feel when you think or speak about them?"

"Well, you see…"

At that moment, Shantae noticed a customer hailing her from one of the shelves, looking for some help.

"I'll tell you at home," she said, moving out from behind the counter. Sky nodded, looking forward to the teasing opportunities she would soon be able to make use of.

* * *

"So, what you're telling me is that you have a crush on a woman who's clearly older than you, and has pet squids?"

Sky asked her question, partially teasing Shantae while also partially being in shock at the revelation.

"Well, I don't know what a crush feels like! That's why I'm asking you for help, but clearly you just want to be mean."

"I'm just teasing, Shae, and you know it."

"But when _I_ tease _you_ about your crushes you get all defensive and angry about it," Shantae muttered, rolling her eyes.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"_Yes._"

"You suck," Sky giggled, lightly punching her friend in the shoulder. Shantae smiled in return. "It does sound like a crush. Best way to find out is to speak to her more, right?"

Sky's suggestion had Shantae turn white. Talk to her, now that she knew, or at least had a very good idea, that she a crush? What if she messed up? What if she let it slip? What if she cost Sky a customer?

The latter made the purplette steel herself, resolving to not let Sky down. She owed her that much, at least.

"You'll be fine, Shae," Sky said, picking up on the teen's worry. "You have much better people skills than I do."

"I'll do my best."

"So when is she coming by again?" Sky asked, breaking Shantae out of her mini panic attack.

"Tomorrow, around 4PM. After we unload and restock everything," she replied.

"Bolo is back tomorrow morning. He'll help us in the afternoon, but I don't want to make him do too much work, so expect a bigger than normal workload."

Shantae nodded at her friend's words.

"Got it."

"Awesome! Now, what do you want for dinner?"

* * *

The next day went by quickly. Among serving customers and feeding the animals, the large shipment had both girls away from the counter for long periods of time. Bolo did end up coming around mid-afternoon, helping them with the heavier deliveries and doing what he could to lighten the load that the girls had. He might not be the smartest of people, but he was very considerate and most definitely a supportive and cherished friend.

Together, they managed to unload the last pallet of cat trees and dog kennels, Bolo telling the girls that he would place them where they needed to go, and that they should take a break. Sky refused, instead taking up her spot at the counter, and Shantae went to go prepare the fish that Risky would be coming in to collect soon.

"Risky…"

Whispering the name to herself sent a tingly feeling of joy throughout her as she poured in water nutrients and chemicals to each tank, varying the amount each time so that no fish would die, or even worse, randomly explode overnight. Well, that's the story she told Sky anyway. She wasn't about to own up to accidentally dropping a water-proof firecracker in the tank, which was luckily empty. Judging by the look Sky gave her when she told the story, she didn't believe her at all. The cameras probably caught it anyway.

"Hello there."

The voice made her jump and feel bliss at the same time, and spinning around, she was met with Risky, who was wearing a rather revealing blouse and somewhat formal pants today. She grinned goofily, saying the first thing that came to her head;

"General Kenobi."

Amazing. Just amazing. Out of all the things she could say, it was _that_. Too much time browsing certain sites…

Instead Risky giggled, covering her mouth with a perfect hand.

"I see you understand some pop culture. Well done. Are my fish here?"

Shantae grinned again, her lips threatening to split her face apart with how big she was smiling. She beckoned Risky to follow her, leading her to a tank that was empty when the older woman first came in.

"They're all here! I believe you reserved… twelve," Shantae said with glee, quickly checking her notebook.

"I might bump that to fourteen."

"Sure thing!" The purplette scribbled down the amount on her notepad, checking the price of the fish and calculating the total amount. She couldn't believe she hadn't tripped up on any of her words yet, and she wasn't going to change that now. "That comes to 364 gems in total! I'm assuming you have all the correct water chemicals and the habitat set up?"

"Correct," Risky nodded.

"Great! I'll just bag them and… uh…"

Risky raised an eyebrow, turning to see at what Shantae was staring at. The blonde girl she had just asked for Shantae's whereabouts seemed to have dragged a brown-haired girl away and was having a stern chat with her. She turned back to Shantae, who looked a little worried.

"Would you like me to break them up?"

Shantae whipped her head towards her, outstretching her hands and shaking her head.

"Nonononono, I said I'd let Sky deal with it, c-can we just wait a bit and give them some privacy?"

"Privacy in a pet store, right next to the counter?" Risky asked with a raised eyebrow. Shantae groaned in embarrassment.

"Y-you know what I mean! Is there something else we can talk about? Like… like what does your aquarium look like, do you have any other pets, can I have your number, what do you work as—"

Shantae slammed a hand over her own mouth - so hard she was surprised she didn't knock out a tooth - as she realised what she had just said. Her face burned a bright red, terrified to look at the lilac-haired woman who was meant to be her customer. She buried her head in her hands, hoping the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She wasn't even a hundred percent sure if it was a crush or not yet, and there was no way she had a chance. What if she was already married? Why didn't she ask about that first? Well, it would be weird being asked if you were married by someone you met briefly two days ago.

A throat clearing caused her to split two fingers apart and peek through them to see Risky holding out her dropped notebook. She tentatively took it back, noticing new marks on it. She must've dropped the pen on a weird angle and—

Oh.

It was a number. _Her _number. _Risky's_ number. She struggled to form any sort of coherent words, stuttering and stopping while still burning red the entire time. Risky shook her head in annoyance, knocking on the top of Shantae's head. When the girl looked up at her with a glare, she spoke again.

"I need someone to help me introduce the fish to the tank and make sure everything is up to scratch. You are capable of this, correct?"

Shantae nodded her head, too scared to speak lest she become a bumbling mess.

"Very well. I will pick you up from here tomorrow at five, when you finish your work." It wasn't a request, but more of a demand. There was no choice here. Not that Shantae was complaining.

"O-okay," she managed to squeak out, both extremely excited and embarrassed.

"I believe your friend is done, so I'll pay for the fish now," Risky said, tilting her head towards the counter. Sky was leaning against it, a neutral look on her face. Neutral to anyone but Shantae. She could see the annoyance in those purple orbs.

Nodding again, she bagged the fish, placing them on a trolley and taking it to the counter.

"Do you have a separate tank for the night then?" She asked on the way, carefully wheeling the cart past the hermit crab terrariums.

"I do," was the simple answer.

Sky looked up when she reached the counter, showing no signs of frustration, but Shantae knew it was there. She silently logged the sale into the computer as Shantae spoke to Risky.

"Y-yeah, um, 364 gems p-please," she stammered. Sky looked at her in shock while Risky smirked and handed her a few large gems.

"Keep the change," she purred, sending even more heavenly shockwaves through Shantae. She was about to faint if this kept up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"S-sure thing, Risky" Shantae said with a smile, it naturally growing into a larger grin. Risky took her purchased fish with her, the last sight of her being her lilac hair flowing behind her.

As soon as she had left, the purplette deflated out of exhaustion from keeping all her excitement pent up. Shaking it off, she began the closing ritual before Sky stopped her.

"What was _that?_" she questioned.

"What was what?"

"You? Stuttering? Shaking? Stammering and nervous? You have it _so_ bad," Sky laughed, tousling Shantae's hair again while the younger girl tried to bat her away.

"Shut up! What happened between you and Rotty?"

Sky's laughter instantly died off, replaced by a low growl.

"Don't even go there."

Shantae narrowed her eyes. Though she respected Sky's privacy, she didn't like seeing the blonde in such a state.

"No, Sky. We're talking about this whether you like it or not. Once we get home, you're spilling it, alright?" She spoke firmly, but not so harshly that Sky would block her out completely. Getting an annoyed huff in response, Shantae continued to close the store down with Sky, her happy mood slightly dampened.

* * *

"Well?"

The duo were in the car at home, but Shantae wanted Sky to open up to her. The ride home had been silent and awkward, tension thick in the air. She hadn't even waited until the car had stopped, questioning the girl as soon as she had entered the garage.

Sighing, Sky turned off the car and leaned back in her seat, staring absently at the roof. Shantae waited patiently for her to begin talking, fiddling with the end of her ponytail.

"I told her how I felt the first day and she was really apologetic, but I kept going and going and going… then she gave me her number and asked if we could at least be friends because she doesn't have many and I…" the blonde was on the verge of tears, and Shantae realised she had misunderstood the whole situation. Sky hadn't been frustrated at Rottytops; she was frustrated at her own actions. Maybe forcing her to spill wasn't such a good idea after all.

"You don't have to keep going if you don't—"

"I insulted her, Shantae. I went from zero to a hundred unnecessarily. She got mad and we started fighting and then she just upped and left. I feel so bad… so,_ so_ bad…" A tear slipped down Sky's cheek, and Shantae was instantly there to hold her, wrapping her arms around Sky's neck and pulling her in. The birdkeeper tried her very best not to cry ever, especially in front of Shantae, but there were times when it was all too much. Stress from work, taxes, studying, or like now, dealing with people, got to Sky sometimes, but Shantae was always there for her.

Granted, Sky managed to prevent herself from crying. Taking in a few shaky breaths, she pushed Shantae off, her next words quiet and cracked.

"I don't know what to do."

"Text her. Say you're sorry and want to meet up and try again. Something tells me that's what you want, isn't it?" Sky looked at Shantae, nodding slowly. "Why did you not like her in the first place, though? You're normally okay with everything."

"She just reminded me of certain _someone_ we- I didn't like at first. Her apologies before I blew it proved that she's not like that."

"Good. Text her now," Shantae said, pulling Sky's phone from her purse and handing it to her.

"Do you think she'll answer?" the blonde asked tentatively.

"Only one way to find out."

As Sky began to construct her text, the younger teen watched her carefully. The blonde was known for being rather hotheaded and easily affected by her emotions, which is why Shantae usually dealt with the customers more often than Sky did. However, Sky also made sure to correct all her mistakes. Shantae knew that Sky cared about this girl more than she let on – she wouldn't be at a state of near-crying or regret otherwise. Sky's hesitance to send the text implied that there was a little more at stake than keeping Rottytops as a customer.

It seemed that this girl had managed to work her way and prove herself to Sky enough that she wanted to be friends with someone outside of Shantae or Bolo, and in such a short amount of time too. While it was a step in the right direction, Shantae couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy that she would have to share Sky with another person. Still, she was her friend, and she would receive all the support she needed.

Sky's finger hovered over the SEND button, and Shantae went to encourage her, but the blonde pressed it just as she opened her mouth. Letting out a sigh of relief, and perhaps anxiousness, Sky started up the car again and backed out of the garage.

"Where are we going?" Shantae asked, surprised at her friend's sudden turn of attitude.

"Let's go out to eat tonight. We deserve it. And I want to hear _all_ about this Risky _woman_ so I can tease you about how much she broke you today," Sky replied with a smile, effectively placing a smile on Shantae's face to see her in a better mood.

"If you must," she murmured in response. She looked at her own phone, deciding that maybe she should text Risky. Sky texted Rottytops, so it was only fair. Typing out a quick text, Shantae hit the send button before she could have any doubts, also hitting the star to favourite Risky as a contact.

_Hi Risky, it's Shantae! Just wanted to say hiiii :D_

Within a few minutes, Shantae got a response that sent her heart racing and a large grin across her face.

_Took you long enough to text me. Before you ask; no. I am not seeing anyone nor am I married. I'll see you tomorrow._

It seems like Risky was interested too.

* * *

**Woo! Chapter 2 done!**

**I wrote this immediately after chapter one before my holiday so it might be a little bit rough as I've only had two days of editing and I wanted to stick to the fortnightly schedule I've given myself. I'm mostly worried whether I have good pacing or not.**

**Anyway, I'm still screwed up by jet lag so once again I'm too tired to think of anything good for this section. Or maybe I'm just not good at it full stop.**

**As always, reviews, faves/follows, criticism, and feedback are all welcome!**

**Till next time,**

**-Tommycats**


	3. Chapter 3

"This house is _huge!_"

Shantae twirled around in the large expanse of the lobby room she was in, following Risky to wherever she kept her aquarium. She'd been looking forward to this all day, a million guesses of what Risky's house would look like, but none of them prepared her for this.

The house – or more fittingly, mansion – sat on a large piece of land with two spanning yards at the front and back, appropriately decorated with shaped trees and hedges and flowers of all kinds, with a smooth dirt path winding through them. A tiled driveway led to Risky's garage, passing a fountain with a sculpted pirate ship atop it all.

Behind the house and the backyard, a clear view of the ocean. Dark blue folds melted with the light blue sky, waves sparkling in the sunlight, and the faint smell of sea salt in the air. The house was just far enough not to be considered a beach house, but close enough that Risky could walk to it if she wanted to.

The house itself was grand, coloured off-white with black roof tiles that contrasted the bright paint. It was quite reminiscent of a shingle style housing, though modified with Risky's preferences. It was clear without a doubt that the lilac-haired woman was very wealthy.

"It is, isn't it?" Risky replied nonchalantly, leading the way. A smirk appeared on her face. "It may appear larger to you than to me, however, because-"

"Don't even finish that sentence," Shantae interrupted with an icy glare, causing Risky to smile and chuckle, a sight and sound Shantae wanted more of.

Being led to one of the doors to the right, the purplette beginning to notice a naval trend in the theming of household decorations. Little ships, flags, anchors, and anything related to the sea were dotted around Risky's furniture, spurring Shantae to ask about them.

"This is just a guess, but I have the feeling you like the ocean?" She beamed at the older woman, who stopped outside the door and smirked again.

"Whatever gave it away?" Risky joked. "I suppose I should tell you what my job is." She nodded towards a particularly large model cruise liner that was in the lobby of her home. "I'm the captain of the _Tinker Tub_, the largest and most luxurious cruise ship to ever sail the seven seas."

"_You're_ the captain of that ship!?" Shantae asked in shock, her jaw unhinging. She had seen the _Tinker Tub_ docked in the bay sometimes, often wondering who the captain was, and jealous of those who could afford a ticket to travel on it. She had made it a personal goal to one day save up enough gems to take herself and Sky on a cruise on the ship. Never had she thought that she would meet the captain herself. "No wonder you're so rich! Even after taxes and staff payments – which I don't understand, by the way – you're earning so many gems through something you enjoy! Not that I don't enjoy working at the pet store, but I am a little jealous that living costs aren't that much of an issue to you."

Risky's smile slowly disappeared as Shantae spoke, replaced with a distant look.

"It didn't always use to be this way…" she murmured. Before Shantae could ask what she meant, Risky opened the door and pulled her inside.

What greeted her was a large room with three walls replaced entirely by aquariums that went two-thirds up the wall, the sections above them deemed to be hatches, if the hinges were to indicate anything. The inner corners of the aquariums were rounded, Shantae realising that there weren't three aquariums – there was only one. Every wall was a fish tank save for the one with the door.

Decorations littered the bed of the aquarium, from sunken ships and bridges, to more natural rocky caves, coral and underwater foliage. A group of small squids swam around, bright red with purple spots, occasionally dipping into a decoration to hide. They weren't very large, about the size of a fist, but they were easily visible.

As Shantae dropped her jaw in surprise and admiration for the second time in a few minutes, Risky chuckled and gently led her to a smaller tank in the corner. The fish that she had just purchased noticed this, quickly hiding behind the few decorations in the tank and huddling together.

"I've had them in quarantine since I got home yesterday. They should be ready to go into the big tank, correct?"

When Risky received no answer, she turned her head to see Shantae against the glass, observing a squid with an expression of awe on her face. Risky shook her head in annoyance before raising her voice.

"Hey! I asked you something!" she snapped, causing the younger teen to jump in fright. "And keep off the glass, I just cleaned it!"

"S-sorry!" Shantae stammered, leaving the tank behind and walking over to Risky. The older woman muttered something incomprehensible under her breath, turning back to the smaller tank. Shantae felt guilty, as well as a little bit scared. Was Risky one of those mean people she detested? Surely she wasn't attracted to one of _those_ types of people… if this was a crush in the first place.

In a calmer voice, Risky commanded Shantae to help her transfer the fish to the larger tank. She pulled out a ladder to reach the hatch above the tank, taking a bagged fish from Shantae and releasing them inside the aquarium, repeating it for every fish.

Once every fish was put inside, she guided the purplette to where she stored her water chemicals, mixing them into the water. When that task was complete, she slid down the ladder, turning around to be greeted by a Shantae who was trying her best to look like she had been watching the squid the entire time.

Judging by her red face, Risky had no doubts about what she had been really looking at. She smirked to herself, putting the teen on the spot.

"See something you like?" Risky waltzed closer as she asked, Shantae's ocean blue eyes snapping to her own, glancing down at her body for a quick second, then blushing more and turning away again, all while stammering and stuttering. Risky giggled, grabbing Shantae's arm and dragging her out of the room. "I suppose you want payment for your help."

Shantae's eyes widened, before shaking her head.

"No, no, it's okay. I didn't even do anything but hand you fish and dirty your glass." The teen frowned for a moment, a thought coming to her mind. "You didn't even need me, did you?"

"No. No I didn't," Risky half laughed, half cackled. "I didn't need you at all."

She led the purplette to her kitchen and dining area, which had a fantastic view of the ocean. Risky sat her down on one side of the table, before sitting herself opposite of Shantae.

"Why did you invite me then?" Invite was being generous. Shantae was hardly given a choice in the matter.

"I'll be honest," Risky said. Her mind flickered back to her earlier years when she was not so honest. She wasn't making that mistake again. "I may have an interest in you, and I believe the feeling is mutual. Am I wrong to assume so?"

Shantae blinked, unsure on how to answer. She hadn't really been trying to hide it, she supposed. It was more of her not being sure if she really was romantically interested in Risky or if it was just some phase she was going through, like the one time she refused to go outside without applying sunscreen every thirty seconds on mildly warm days.

"You know, an answer would be great," Risky said, her face expressing slight annoyance.

"I, uh… I don't know?" Shantae murmured quietly. Risky rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean you 'don't know?'"

"I've never _liked_ anyone before. I might actually like you or I'm just hitting another phase. I'm sorry…" the purplette trailed off, sniffling a little. Why was it so easy for her to deal with customers, but when she wanted to get to know someone better, she became emotional and nervous?

_"There's a difference between being professional with someone and being close to someone, Shantae. You may strive in one but struggle with the other. If and when you find a person who you take interest in, simply be yourself. You will achieve greater outcomes that way."_

As her uncle's voice echoed in her head, Shantae questioned if being emotional and nervous was really herself. She knew it wasn't; she had never acted like that around Sky or Bolo, or anyone else for that matter. Maybe once she got past this initial phase of being a nervous wreck she could truly act as herself. But why was she finding it so difficult to do so now?

"You don't need to impress me, you know." The purplette raised her ocean eyes to meet the crimson of Risky's, who looked at her with a comforting smile. Of course the older woman would be able to guess what she was thinking. "Don't think that I haven't seen you act adorably before."

"Uh…" Shantae's concern grew rather quickly after that comment. Risky widened her eyes at the thought of what it sounded like, losing her (mostly) calm demeanour and panicking slightly.

"No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that, in the shop, I've been in the shop before and have seen how you talk to people," the lilac-haired woman stammered, hoping that she had recovered her blunder well enough. By the way the teen across from her relaxed a little, she assumed she had. "Now that I think about it, inviting you over to discuss this may not have been the best idea, especially since we hardly know each other. Would you like to try something else at a different location?"

"No," Shantae said firmly. "I'm here now. Let's do this," she added with a determined smile. Risky smiled warmly back, standing up to grab some food she had cooked and some wine for herself. She grabbed a juice box with a straw for Shantae, laughing at the scowl she got in response, before offering other drinks and properly sitting down to acquaint herself with the younger girl.

* * *

The duo talked for hours, and before long, it was nearly midnight. Risky drove Shantae back to their humble home, the teen unable to stop gawking at the luxurious vehicle and its features. Risky chuckled as she stopped outside the house.

"A little boring, don't you think?"

"Shut up," Shantae replied, "not everyone can be as rich as you. And it reminds me of my home town." Opening the door and stepping out, she turned around and smiled brightly at the older woman. "Can we do this again?"

Risky giggled the giggle that Shantae loved so much. "Of course. I'll text you when I'm available."

"Yay!" Shantae squealed. "Oh, oh, I forgot something." With that, she leaned back into the car and kissed Risky on the cheek, eliciting another squeal before quickly backing out and smacking her head against the doorframe of the car.

Risky let out a cackle-like laugh as Shantae groaned and held the rear of her head in pain. "See you soon, Shantae," she purred, winking as she shut the door. Shantae smiled brightly (or as brightly as she could while her head throbbed) and waved Risky off, rubbing her head with a wince once she had disappeared down the hill.

She clumsily got out her keys and let herself into the house, hearing the TV playing as she stepped through the door. She beelined straight for the fridge, pulling out an icepack and holding it over a small lump that was beginning to form.

"Did she hit you?"

Shantae turned to see a hoodie and jean clad, stern-faced Sky with her hands on her hips.

"No, I whacked my head on her car," Shantae replied. The cool sensation of the icepack began to take effect, and she let out a small noise of relief.

Sky let out a sigh and chuckled, "You're such a klutz."

"And you're a bird-brain," Shantae countered. "What did you and Rottytops get up to?"

Sky's smirk turned into an embarrassed pout as she huffed and looked away. "Nothing."

"Oh?" Shantae's smile turned mischievous, wanting to make Sky's embarrassment last as long as possible. It was only fair after all, since the older girl always made Shantae squirm whenever she could. "That doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me, Sky."

"Nothing special."

"Oh, really?" Shantae said, clearly not believing her. "Then I guess nothing happened on my date either." She threw the icepack back in the freezer, the ache in her head mostly gone, grabbing a packet of dumplings to cook. She heard a groan behind her, and she smiled inwardly to herself.

"_Fine._ We went out to this pizza place she loves and she told me everything she likes and got me to do the same," Sky summarised. "She's really into zombies for some reason."

"And?" Shantae pressed.

"And what?"

"_And?_"

"Ugh, you're such a—"

"Such a what, Sky? You do the same to me."

Sky folded her arms with a dramatic 'hmph,' glaring at Shantae. The purplette giggled and stuck her tongue out, taking out a pot and preparing her meal. "Well?"

Sky muttered something about Shantae and best friend status under her breath, to which the aforementioned girl's grin only grew larger.

"She invited me to go out on another date with her next week and possibly back to her place…" Sky eventually got out, pulling her hoodie over her face in embarrassment.

"Aw, that's _adorable_," Shantae cooed, reaching up to pat Sky on her head. "Widdle Sky got another date."

"Shut up." Sky swatted Shantae's hand away, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "So, what about you?"

"She straight up told me she was interested in me," Shantae replied. She placed a lid on the pot, setting a timer to come back and turn off the flame.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"And what did you say?"

"I, uh… told her I didn't know how I felt and then felt guilty for it," Shantae admitted. The duo headed back to the living room, Sky turning down the volume of the TV to hear her friend better before settling on their patchy blue couch.

"I see," Sky mused, playing with the tip of Shantae's long hair between her fingers as she got comfortable. "Did anything seem amiss or dangerous about her?"

"No, not at all." Shantae decided not to mention Risky trailing off strangely when the purplette had mentioned her job. "You can stop babying me, you know. We're not in high school anymore."

"Sorry Shae, but you're like a little sister to me. I'll protect you for as long as we're friends. Emphasis on 'little.'" Sky stuck her tongue out as she said it.

Shantae rolled her eyes. "Fine. As your 'little sister,' it's my job to make your life miserable. I'll be back after I text a saucy message to Rottytops via your phone," she retorted, challenging Sky with a smile.

"If I hold it up above my head, you can't reach it. So I automatically win," Sky responded, before the two fell into laughter together. "What's her job?" Sky asked after they had calmed down.

"She's the captain of the _Tinker Tub_."

"She's the what now!?" Sky gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. "That's crazy! You should get us tickets if you can."

"Skyyyy," Shantae moaned. "I'm not gonna abuse her interest in me for free tickets."

Sky seemed to droop a little at the comment. "Oh, I know, Shantae. You're far too kind to do to that to anyone." The blonde sat back up and shuffled over to properly sit with the purplette. "But keep it in mind?"

"We'll see." Shantae smirked. "Maybe we could bring Rottytops with us if I did. Get you two a room together. Sound-proofed, of course."

"The same type of room you and Risky will share? Of course," Sky grinned back in response.

Before Shantae could respond, the timer in the kitchen went off, signalling to her that her dinner was cooked. She heaved herself off the couch, heading to the kitchen and turned off the flame, before expertly transferring dumplings from pot to plate and topping it off with some of her favourite sauce.

Heading back to the living room, Sky had already turned the volume back up and was just starting a movie, patting next to her for Shantae to sit.

"Aren't movie nights usually on Friday nights or the weekend?"

"Consider it a special treat for ourselves for our successful… dates." Sky seemed to not quite like using that word yet. She shook her head. "Our own little friend-date, then."

"That sounded worse," Shantae said flatly.

"You get the idea."

The movie began to transition into the intro sequence, Shantae delightedly digging into her food, when Sky came close to her ear.

"I need to get groceries and other supplies tomorrow, so I'll be leaving you alone for two to three hours. I'll give you a list of what needs to be done but I made a draft of one while you were in the kitchen."

The blonde handed Shantae a small piece of paper, who began to turn as red as tomato as she read a question on the which of Risky's 'department stores' she was most interested in.

"_Skyyyyyyy!"_

The laughter and cries of the two girls were drowned out by the sound of a spaceship emanating from the TV.

* * *

**This was meant to be uploaded yesterday but I decided to leave it as I had work earlier. Saturday nights in my time (AEST) will now be the normal update schedule as I believe it would be better not to stay up late finishing these fics when I have work early the next day.**

**This particular chapter came about from another story I had long ago and got refitted to suit the purpose of this story. You may notice the difference in (the severe lack of) quality from where I wrote this a while back to the past fornight.**

**Uni starts next week for me so I'll see how the fortnight thing stays up, as I may need to put this fic on hiatus too to be able to finish my workload. I aim to avoid this as much as possible.**

**I feel like I struggle with anything outside of dialogue so I'll try and remedy that in future chapters. Keyword being 'try.'**

**As always, reviews, faves/follows, criticism, and feedback are all welcome and appreciated!**

**Till next time,**

**-Tommycats**


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